


Nurse Zelos

by idiotchosen (Seira_g)



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Established Relationship, I don't write much fluff sorry, M/M, Sickfic, Zelos wears a literal nurse outfit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 16:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15246822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seira_g/pseuds/idiotchosen
Summary: Lloyd ends up with a cold, and Zelos takes his job as his nurse a bit too seriously.





	Nurse Zelos

**Author's Note:**

> SICKFICS. I LOVE THEM. And I still love zelloyd, so it's a match made in heaven, really. I wanted this to be longer originally, but I also didn't want to drag it out for too long, so here we are. I might write more stuff like this if people want it, though. *shrugs*

Lloyd Irving was a lot of things. But as Zelos had come to realize, a good liar was most definitely not one of them. 

It had started earlier that morning, when Lloyd, who normally wolfed down his entire breakfast without so much as looking at it, had cleared maybe half of his plate before suggesting that they head out for the day. That had been Zelos’s first clue that something was wrong, but he hadn’t said anything-- maybe Lloyd was just having an off morning, and would come around after hitting the road. And for a bit, that seemed to be the case, until the early afternoon, when Lloyd started sniffling, loudly enough for Zelos to hear. He was lagging a bit behind Zelos, too, which was a rarity.

Finally, Zelos couldn’t take it anymore. “Lloyd, are you getting sick or something? You sure sound like it.”

“Huh?” Lloyd blinked, taking a moment to process what Zelos had said. “I don’t know what you’re talking abo--” before he could finish his sentence, a large sneeze cut him off, followed by another. Zelos narrowed his eyes. “Really, I’m fine! It’s just, uh, allergies! Yeah, that’s it!”

“Really.” Zelos frowned. “And what are you allergic to, exactly?”

“Um… pollen?” 

“At this time of the year? Please.” Zelos snorted, but his expression shifted to one of concern. Briskly, he leaned in closer to Lloyd and brushed his bangs away from his face before bringing their foreheads together. “You feel kind of warm, too. Just admit it, hunny, you're sick.”

“But I never get sick,” Lloyd whined, before sneezing yet again. Blinking, he brought the back of his gloved hand up to his nose and wiped at it. But his nose kept running no matter how many times he repeated this action, and finally he gave up. “Okay, okay, you win. I've been feeling a little off since this morning. But it's just a little cold!” Lloyd insisted. “I can still keep going.”

Zelos realized that he had a choice to make. He could force his lover to rest-- a monumental task on its own-- or he could take Lloyd at his word, avoiding the hassle of trying to convince him otherwise. Because what Lloyd lacked in lying abilities, he more than made up for in stubbornness. Once his mind was made up that he was going to do something, it was getting done, no matter what obstacle stood in his way. It was one of the many things Zelos admired about him, but at times like these, it was tiring to deal with.

“Even if it’s just a cold, it could turn into something nasty if you don’t take care of it early on,” Zelos finally answered, after some careful deliberation. “We’re getting pretty close to Meltokio. Why don’t we stop at my mansion for the night?” Lloyd opened his mouth to protest, but ended up sneezing instead. “I’m taking that as a yes. Come on, let’s go.” And without another word, Zelos took Lloyd by the hand and started pulling him in the direction of the city. 

The walk to Meltokio only took around an hour, but by the time they arrived, even Lloyd had to admit he was glad Zelos had dragged him off. His headache, which had started as a dull pain in the back of his head, had worsened considerably since that morning, to the point where it was growing hard for him to concentrate on anything else. His entire body felt heavy and uncomfortably warm, and as much as he hated to admit it, there was nothing he wanted more than to curl up in bed and try to get some sleep-- assuming his near-constant sneezing would let him.

Not that he would be admitting any of that to Zelos, of course. The idiot would never let him live it down.

When they arrived at the Wilder mansion, Zelos told Lloyd to take his pick of the many guest rooms. “If you need anything, just call me or Sebastian. I’ll go see if I have any cold medicine on hand.”Lloyd nodded, and headed for the nearest room. Within minutes of collapsing onto the bed, he was fast asleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as Lloyd awoke, he immediately wished that he hadn’t. Alongside the vicious pounding in his temples, his throat felt like it had been rubbed completely raw, and his limbs ached. He could tell now that whatever he had was more than “just a little cold,” and he was kicking himself for not noticing it sooner… or at least he would have, if he thought he had the strength to get off the bed. He turned over and groaned into his pillow, which only served to irritate his throat and send him into a fit of coughing that, once it started, refused to quit. 

“Sounds like you’re awake.” When his cough finally slowed down, Lloyd shifted his gaze to the doorway and saw Zelos, who was carrying a tray with what appeared to be a mug and a small bottle. “That’s a pretty gross cough you’ve got there,” he said, although his joking tone failed to mask the look of concern that flashed across his face. “I’m guessing you’re not feeling much better?”

“You’d be guessing right,” Lloyd responded, surprising even himself with how raspy and weak his voice sounded. He cleared his throat and winced. “It wasn’t… this bad, earlier…”

Zelos frowned, and moved to kneel by the side of Lloyd’s bed. He put his hand against Lloyd’s forehead, and Lloyd let out a sigh at how cool Zelos’s hand felt against his skin. Zelos’s frown only deepened. “I think your fever’s getting worse, too. You weren’t this warm earlier.” He turned his attention to the bottle he had brought into the room. “I brought you some medicine, so hopefully that helps. Oh, there’s some tea here, too. I thought it might help your throat.”

“Uh, thanks.” Lloyd blinked. Had Zelos always been this… caring? Not that he was uncaring, by any stretch, but when had he ever been this helpful? Lloyd couldn’t help but smile. He loved seeing new sides to Zelos, because, as he had realized long ago, there were many. He was so much more than that mask he wore to fool people, and that was why Lloyd had ended up falling for him. A faint smile on his face, Lloyd took the medicine from Zelos and poured it down his throat. It was more bitter than he expected, and swallowing hurt, but he was grateful nonetheless.

“No problem. Is there anything else you need? I can have Sebastian go and get it if you don't want to be left alone.”

“Hmm…” Lloyd sneezed, shivering as a sudden chill ran through his body. 

“If you're cold, I could always warm you up,” Zelos purred, his trademark grin spreading across his face. Lloyd shot him a glare.

“No way. You'll get sick too.”

“Hunny, with how much time I spend around you, I'm probably going to catch whatever it is you have anyways.” 

Lloyd coughed. “Let’s hope not.” Sighing, his head dropped back onto the pillows. “Ugh, this sucks…”

“Being sick usually does,” Zelos said, switching away from his joking tone and into one that was more comforting. “Just get some more sleep, okay? It’s getting late, and you'll never get better by lying around and complaining.” Zelos pulled the blanket up to Lloyd’s chin, and planted a light kiss on his flushed cheek. “I'll come in here from time to time to check on you, so just let me know if you need anything.”

“Yeah. Thanks, Zelos.” Lloyd closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would take him sooner rather than later. 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“...oyd.”

“Lloyd, hun, wake up. I brought you some more medicine.” At the sound of Zelos’s voice, Lloyd stirred from his light slumber. A brief moment passed where he thought he might be feeling better, but those hopes were dashed when he tried to swallow, and felt like there were a million tiny knives in his throat. He coughed weakly into his hand as a response. He looked up at Zelos, his vision still blurry from sleep, and--

Wait.

Something seemed… different about Zelos.

Lloyd blinked several times in an attempt to clear his vision. He must have still been dreaming, he thought absently, or delusional from his fever. There was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

But the more time passed, the more convinced he grew that Zelos really was standing over him, wearing a nurse outfit. 

The tight-fitting dress was a light pink color, much lighter than the clothes he usually wore. It really seemed to be stretching in the area around his broad shoulders, but other than that, it fit him so well that Lloyd thought it could have been custom made. Zelos had tied his hair back at the neck to keep it out of his face. Lloyd couldn't help but stare.

“Zelos… what are you…” 

Zelos looked down at himself and grinned. “Just think of it as a special service for while you're sick. I decided if I'm going to take care of you myself, I might as well go all out. So I borrowed this.” Noticing the light blush creeping across Lloyd's cheeks, shining even through the flush of his fever, Zelos moved his face closer to Lloyd’s. “They do say the best way to get rid of a fever is to sweat it out, you know.” 

Lloyd's eyes narrowed. “Really.” 

“Yep. Now just lie back and leave it all to the great Nurse Zelos, okay?” Zelos pulled out the same bottle that the medicine had been in before, and poured some of the thick liquid into a small cup. Lloyd reached out to grab it, but Zelos managed to catch his hand midway, and brought it back down to rest by his side. 

“What are you--”

“I said I'd take care of everything, didn't I? Now, say aaah.” Lloyd wanted to protest and say he could drink it himself, but at that moment, he was too tired to fight Zelos on much of anything. Reluctantly, he opened his mouth, and allowed Zelos to feed him his medicine. Lloyd coughed a bit as it went down, but Zelos didn't move away, instead placing a hand on his back until it stopped. 

“You might not want to get so close to me,” Lloyd muttered, reluctantly looking away from Zelos.

“Hunny, I already told you, I don't care if you get me si--” but before he could finish his sentence, Lloyd sneezed, all over a stunned Zelos. 

“...I tried to warn you.” Lloyd sniffed, reaching for a tissue. “But… thanks, Zelos.” Zelos was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment, his grin fading for just a moment before reappearing, this time a bit more genuine. 

“You can thank me by letting me take care of you for once,” he said, brushing his hand against Lloyd’s forehead. “Consider the outfit a bonus.” Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Anyways, do you think you can eat anything right now?”

“I can try. Just… nothing too heavy, okay?”

“You got it. I’ll go tell Sebastian to whip something up. There’s this amazing soup he used to make when I was sick as a kid. Do you need anything else?”

Lloyd closed his eyes. “Just stay with me. No point trying to keep you safe from my germs now.”

Zelos smiled. Usually he was the clingy one, always snuggling up to Lloyd or whining when they were seperated. Even under the circumstances, it made him happy to know that Lloyd wanted him there just as much as he wanted to be with Lloyd. As much as he wanted to see Lloyd recovered and back to his usual self, Zelos couldn’t say he hated the way he was acting right now. 

“Alright, I’ll be back in a minute.” He winked. “Try not to get too lonely while I’m gone.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Lloyd rolled his eyes again, but Zelos could tell that he appreciated the banter. With a quick wave of his hand, Zelos left the room. 

XXXXXXXX

Two days passed, and while Lloyd seemed to be over the worst of his cold, Zelos, as they had feared, had started showing his own symptoms. As he sneezed for what must have been the hundredth time that day, he rolled over sluggishly to face Lloyd, who was lying in bed next to him.

“This feels even worse than I thought it would,” he said through the congestion in his nose. 

Lloyd shrugged. “I did warn you, you know.” He coughed lightly into his hand. “Sorry I can’t take care of you like you did for me.”

“Please. Just having you here to warm me up is perfect.” He moved closer to the other man and wrapped his arms around his body. “Sebastian can take care of anything else.” And he meant it. Even with as awful as he felt, Zelos almost wished he would never get better if it meant being able to be close to his lover like this. “I love you, y’know,” he murmured, burying his face into Lloyd’s chest. Lloyd smiled softly, returning the hug. “There is one thing that disappoints me, though.”

“Hm? What is it?” 

“I wish I could have seen you in the nurse outfit, too.” LLoyd snorted, and playfully slapped Zelos on the back.

“...Maybe when we’re feeling better.”


End file.
